Canada’s Supreme Court Rules Against the Bible

In a ruling that is sure to send shock waves through the nation, Canada’s Supreme Court ruled 7-2 against Trinity Western University’s (TWU) Law School. In effect, what the court declared is that universities must choose between biblical standards and accreditation. Put another way, the court ruled that Christianity and higher education are incompatible. I am not exaggerating in the least.

Here’s a brief summary of the case for those who are not familiar with it. Trinity Western is a Christian university that requires its students and faculty to live by basic Christian standards. This means that to be a student or faculty member in good standing, you can’t commit fornication or adultery, nor can you engage in homosexual relationships.

There’s nothing surprising with these requirements, and there are thousands of schools in North America with similar standards. These include Christian schools from K-12, Christian colleges, Bible schools, seminaries, and universities.

These standards have long been part of TWU’s mandatory covenant, which requires “that all students and faculty pursue a holy life ‘characterized by humility, self-sacrifice, mercy and justice, and mutual submission for the good of others.’ It requires members to abstain from using vulgar language, lying or cheating, stealing, using degrading materials such as pornography, and ‘sexual intimacy that violates the sacredness of marriage between a man and a woman.’”

Again, this is gospel 101, the basic requirements of Christian discipleship. And it is honorable that TWU seeks to live this out on its campus.

Unfortunately, when TWU opened its law school, it fell afoul of Canada’s LGBT activists and their allies. They argued that TWU was discriminating against LGBT students, because of which students graduating with a bona fide law degree should not be allowed to practice law in Canada.

There was a ray of hope for TWU when a regional court ruled in its favor. But now, “In a pair of 7-2 rulings, the majority of justices found the law societies of British Columbia and Ontario have the power to refuse accreditation based on Trinity Western University's so-called community covenant.”

Or, to paraphrase, the Supreme Court ruled that if a Christian law school wants accreditation, it must abandon biblical values. How else can this be interpreted?

“The majority judgment said the covenant would deter LGBT students from attending the proposed law school, and those who did attend would be at risk of significant harm.”

Significant harm? If so, why? Because of biblical teaching. Because of Christian values. This the locus of the battle. This is the point of conflict.

Parse it however you like, but this is the hardcore truth.

“[The judgment] found the public interest of the law profession gives it the right to promote equality by ensuring equal access, support diversity within the bar and prevent harm to LGBT students.”

In other words, “diversity” according to the LGBT lexicon. Diversity meaning “the LGBT way or the highway.” Diversity meaning, “all views are welcome other than biblical Christian views.”

That’s why we’ve been raising our voices for so many years. That’s why we’ve been warning. That’s why we’ve said that those who came out the closet want to put us into the closet. That’s why we’ve said that LGBT activism was never simply about “tolerance.” It was about the silencing of competing views.

And if it could happen in Canada, it could happen in America. (For the skeptics and mockers, give me one good reason why this could not happen here. And note that TWU was not some tiny school hidden in a corner. It has “40 undergraduate programs and 17 graduate programs.”)

Honestly, I don’t know where TWU goes from here. And I don’t know how the believers in Canada will respond.

But I can say this to my friends and colleagues and fellow-educators and communicators here in America: We either use our liberties or lose them. We either stand fast and stand tall and stand strong, or we cower in a corner. We either do what’s right today, or we apologize to our children tomorrow.

Comments

TWU's covenant, and as I see it, is what is truthful, just and for the good of all who would be represented by the future lawyers that they produce. What is so wrong about having a lawyer with a conscience. Someone who upholds the law with compassion for both sides. I don't want a lawyer who would let slip by justice and mercy in order to sway an outcome because the lie they told, they felt might better serve the public rather than the truth. The "Truth" is always the way to go and I think TWU is all about the truth. In the lives of their students and the public on the whole. The "Truth" of the matter is, that those who oppose "Can't handle the TRUTH". Can I get an Amen!

There are more Californians than there are Canadians (let that sink in), and California (among other states) is proceeding along a path that will inevitably lead to this same sort of government-run tyranny over faithful Christians. It's time to amend the U.S. constitution in ways that strengthen protection for the faithful. (The "establishment clause" was not designed per se to protect believers, but that's a longer discussion for another time.) If we wait any longer---and if it isn't already---it will be too late. Washington's political elites are in the tank for the Brownshirt Left, so our only hope is an Article V "Convention of States" to propose the amendments we need.

If LGBT students are "at risk of significant harm” from attending a Christian law school, then why just take away their accreditation? Why not shut down such a terrible school and arrest those who have done this? Why not shut down all Christian schools that practice biblical values? And why stop there? Why not shut down churches, arrest pastors, and remove children from bible believing families, given this "significant harm"? Isn't that what society already does when children are at significant risk of harm in other ways? I doubt the Canadian Supreme Court thought this through all the way, but surely Satan helped craft the language of this ruling. He knows where this can lead to. But as bad as that is, it's worse that Christians don't seem to care to stand up and push back against this. Where are the marches of concerned Christians upset by this? It seems Christians have largely become sympathetic to the LGBT agenda as well. It appears we don't really believe the bible ourselves any more. The liberal media and entertainment have won our hearts. One might ask where is the fear of God -- but then we've heard so much about God's love, how can anyone fear Him these days? Rather we fear society's condemnation. And we are moved more by the suffering of the LGBT community than by God's call for holiness, sanctification and purity. But then, since when did Christians really care about holiness? And of those who do, how many actually live it? Go do a poll on that Canadian Christian campus. I suspect it's only a minority that actually live out the covenant they signed up for.